www.sciedupress.com/cns Clinical Nursing Studies, 2013, Vol. 1, No.1 Published by Sciedu Press 35 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Effects of soothing music on labor pain among Filipino mothers Leodoro J. Labrague, Rheajane A. Rosales, Gilbey L. Rosales, Gerald B. Fiel College of Nursing & Health Sciences, Samar State University, Philippines Correspondence: Leodoro J. Labrague. Address: College of Nursing & Health Sciences, Samar State University, Philippines. Email: Leo7_ci@yahoo.com Received: January 6, 2013 Accepted: February 19, 2013 Online Published: February 22, 2013 DOI: 10.5430/cns.v1n1p35 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5430/cns.v1n1p35 Abstract Background: Labor pain is the most undesirable and unpleasant aspect of labor experience during childbirth. In the Philippines, especially in government hospitals, they seldom receive pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic management to reduce pain. Thus, the purpose of this study was to identify the effect of soothing music on the perception of pain during the latent phase of labor among laboring women in a government hospital. Methodology: A quasi-experimental design with random assignment was utilized in this investigation. Fifty subjects were assigned into either music (n=25) or non-music group (n=25). Participants’ levels of pain were measured utilizing the visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain and the behavioral rating scale (BRS) for pain at two time period. The non-music group was provided with the usual standard routine of care while the music group was provided with the usual standard routine of care and was exposed music therapy for 30 minutes. Results: Findings revealed that those in the music group had statistically significant reduction in reported pain levels compared to those in the non-music group [VAS (t=7.317, p<0.05) and BRS (t=8.128, p<0.050)]. Conclusion: The finding provides promising result that soothing music during the latent phase of labor provides pain reduction and can be used as part their routine when providing care for women during this stage. Key words Labor pain, Music therapy, Analogue visual scale, Behavioral rating scale 1 Introduction Labor pain is part of a normal process. Although expected during labor process, it is considered as the most undesirable and unpleasant aspect of the labor experience during childbirth [1] . Laboring women often experience intense pain uterine contractions resulting in visceral pain. During descent, the fetus head exerts pressure on the mother’s pelvic floor, vagina and perineum causing somatic pain transmitted to the pudendal nerve [2, 3] . As woman’s labor progresses, labor pain also increases especially for primiparas [4, 5] . Pain during birth involves two components; the physiologic component – that which includes reception by sensory nerves and transmission to the central nervous system and the psychological component – that which involves recognizing the sensation, interpreting it as painful, and reacting to the interpretation. Compared to other types of pain, labor pain is unique in the sense that it is normal and self – limiting, can be prepared for, and ends with a baby’s birth [6, 7] .